Av3 Now and Then
by Awkward Turtleduck
Summary: With the backdrop of a secret love affair between a spy and a vampress are the stories that have been erased by the hegemonic powers of Time and a Goddess.
1. Chapitre 1 Growing Realization

**Title:** Now and Then

**Characters:** Mel, Te'ijal, Edward, Galahad, Stella, Lydia

**Pairings:** Te'ijal x Mel, Edward x Mel, Te'ijal x Galahad (we're going for open relationships here)

**Rating:** 15+

**Summary:** Mel's growing fascination with a vampress is getting out of hand.

**Timeline:** The world of Av3, during Mel's journey, but interspersed with references to Av1 and Av2.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Aveyond nor any of the characters. I'm just a poor university student trying to cope with the injustices of life.

‡

**Chapitre 1: **Growing Realization

Looking closely at Te'ijal, Mel concluded that the vampress was very beautiful. Her pale skin contrasted well with her ruby-red eyes and lips. Besides, her perfectly chiseled jaw, her high cheekbones and her tall nose were, in human standards, very attractive. How could anyone not see her as beautiful? Mel thought it was impossible but then again, there was Te'ijal's difficult husband, the paladin Galahad.

Which is why on that rare peaceful night, as Stella and Lydia slept around the welcoming heat of the camp fire, as Edward was ruminating about his future under a tree, and as Te'ijal went off to scout the surrounding areas for spies, Mel asked Galahad.

The paladin was sitting on a piece of log near the camp fire, lost in thought.

"Hey, don't you find Te'ijal beautiful?"

His head snapped up and his brows creased to his usual frown. "Find that demon spawn beautiful?" he spat. "I would sooner be damned!"

_Okay, that answers it,_ Mel thought. "But," she persisted, "taking aside the fact that she's a vampress who stole your soul, don't you think that physically, she's attractive?"

Galahad's lips twitched contemptuously. "She is _attractive_ precisely because she is a vampress. It's always been like that with creatures of evil—they tempt you with their beauty."

It was then that Mel realized that it was useless to discuss the matter further. Galahad was so dead-set in his beliefs that there was no getting through him. He sees the world in plain black-and-white, no gray areas at all.

‡

Mel didn't know when it had started but one day she noticed that she had a habit of looking at Te'ijal from the corner of her eye. It was not that she would look at her every minute, but that every time something happened, like an attack from wild creatures, she would instinctively dart a glance towards the vampress.

_Fascination with evil, tempted by their beauty,_ as Galahad would have put it. Mel didn't find anything wrong with it. After all, it wasn't everyday that one could have a vampress as a traveling companion.

"Hey Mel, are you alright?" somebody asked anxiously.

Mel snapped out of her reverie. They had just fought a pack of wolves which they dispatched quite easily. Which was why the question irritated her.

"Yes I am. I'm no weakling, Edward!"

The young man's face didn't lose the look of concern. At that moment, Mel thought how much she was grateful for Edward's patience. Surely it wasn't easy traveling with someone who snapped at you over small things (which Mel often did nowadays—she didn't exactly relish in the thought that she was a descendant of a demented evil sorcerer, or that she had helped in giving the Orb of Darkness to another demented psycho vampire, or that she had to take responsibility for the survival of humankind).

With that thought, she muttered an apology and was about to drag the carcasses of the wolves to skin them and chopped them off for dinner when Edward grabbed her arm.

"Mel, what's wrong?"

"Oh nothing's wrong, Edward," Mel answered sarcastically. "All's right with the world—no psycho vampire to stop, no Orb of Light to find, no mysteries about an amnesiac girl to unravel, no fighting for one's life to survive. No, nothing's wrong."

"You can tell me you know. If you're stressed about all of this."

Looking at those earnest green eyes, Mel thought of how she was being unfair to Edward. He had always been there, helping her (although she knew it was also because he was afraid of the responsibilities that come with becoming a king). And the fact that it was not really about Gyendal and his band of bloodthirsty followers or her relationship with Mordred Darkthrop or the mystery behind Stella's amnesia (and subtle flirting with Edward) which stressed her nowadays made her all the more guilty.

"Sorry, Edward. I'm just… tired." She looked up at the purplish sky tinged with the red rays of the setting sun. "Maybe we should camp out here."

Edward looked at her for a while longer then said, "Yes, I think we should."

"Camping out _again?"_ a shrill voice sounded from behind Mel.

Mel let out an irritated sigh before turning to face the green-haired snob. "What is it this time, Lydia?"

"Well, let me tell you, rat-face, that with us camping out every night when we have been in this forest for, like, five days?—no, make that ten days—we will have made absolutely no progress in our journey to save the world!"

"Lydia—" Edward began.

""And you know what? I can see perfectly why you would prefer it this way: you do not really want to save the world; you only want to seduce my poor Edward so that you can become Queen of Thais. I can see right through you!"

"Lydia, please—"

"We will not ever make out of this forest until you can be sure that my darling Edward will make you his Queen after we defeat this loony vampire!"

"Lydia, stop it!" Edward yelled.

Whatever he said next didn't register in Mel's mind. She just stared at Lydia. Was it ten days already? Had it been that long? She didn't notice that such a long time has passed. Why did it slip out of her consciousness? Was she that absent-minded lately?

"She is right, rabbit."

Mel nearly jumped at the sound of the cool voice from just behind her. She turned around and saw the tall vampress looking at her. "We have been spending far too much time here. We should get going."

For the nth time that day, Mel was at a loss. Why was it that people have a way of sneaking up on her these days? She shook the thoughts out of her head and muttered, "Sure, let's go. You guys are up for an all-nighter right?"

"Of course we are," Lydia snorted.

"Yes, I'm up to it," Edward said as he gave her his encouraging smile.

"How about you, Stella?" Mel asked the dark-skinned girl sitting on a rock.

"Yes, I think I can make it."

"If she gets tired, I can carry her," Galahad proclaimed, his chest puffed out like a peacock. Mel darted a glance at Te'ijal and saw the same indifferent expression on her face.

"Okay then, let's pack up some meat then we'll be off."

As they picked their way out in the dense forest, Lydia led the way with her fire magic lighting their path (this time Mel didn't have the energy to pick a fight with her since she still couldn't get over the shock that she had been quite absent-minded these days, to the point that she was unaware that they had been in the forest far longer than they should have been).

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Edward darting glances to her direction, much like they way she glanced at Te'ijal these days.

Edward sidled beside her (leaving Stella's side, making the dark-skinned girl pout), and touched her arm lightly.

Mel jumped back, brandishing her dagger. "Edward! Don't scare me like that!"

"You were zoning out again!" Edward, who had also jumped back at her reaction, exclaimed.

The whole party had stopped. Lydia was glaring at her; Stella was staring at her; Galahad and Edward were having similar looks of concern (which struck Mel as so _noble-like_ that it was annoying); and—here Mel tried her best to avoid looking at her—Te'ijal was looking at her with amusement.

And then Mel realized something. What disturbed her nowadays was the fact that she didn't think about saving the world and fighting evil anymore. With each passing day, she was more and more acutely aware of her growing fascination with a vampress, to the point that she could no longer act normally around her.

It was getting out of hand.

‡


	2. Chapitre 2 The Pendragons

**Chapitre 2:** Winding Back the Time—The Pendragons

They had gone on in their journey peacefully, with Mel making a great effort to be lively and sarcastic as she was before. She succeeded with her act for the most part; but there were two people who saw through it all.

For many nights now, as the scenery changed from the verdant greenery to the blinding whiteness of snow, Edward had been shooting worried looks in her direction. At first, Mel was kind of touched but as the days wore on, she found them very irritating. She was actually having second thoughts whether to go to the brown-haired prince and confront him about it or just pray that he would tire of it. His approaching her seemed out of the question, especially since that incident in the forest where she nearly knifed him.

The other person who saw through her act was the person she wanted most to be deceived. Whenever Mel would meet Te'ijal's eyes, the vampress would give her a look that plainly said: _You are very amusing, rabbit._

And try as she might, Mel could never read beyond that message. _Does she know that I'm bothered by her? Does she know why I'm acting this way?_ These thoughts would race inside her head and she would turn away, her heart palpitating.

Mel knew better than to deny whatever it was she was feeling. She was attracted to the vampress, with her cool and witty personality. _This,_ Mel reasoned, _was because she is… exotic._ There was nothing wrong with it, really. Mel had been attracted to many people before and for various reasons. But thoughts of survival had effectively scraped off every other thing in her mind. The closest thing that she ever got with someone she was attracted to was being friends with him. That was Edward.

Edward was handsome, Mel admitted that. And he was like her in many ways—they were both trouble-makers and adventurers. And though he was a noble, he didn't act like a snob—he was down-to-earth. But as she got to know him, she also discovered some flaws in his personality. The fact that he dreaded becoming a king and had been skirting from his fate was a weakness in his character. It was obvious that given a chance, he would run away. But the influence of the King and Queen of Thais would surely bring him back and that was why he settled to the next best thing—traveling the world before he'd be stuck in his throne. This refusal of responsibility left a bad taste in her mouth.

She couldn't help but compare it to the story she had heard from a pirate she had met in a bar in Harburg, a story about a king of Thais who lived hundreds of years ago. It was the story of Uthar Pendragon.

‡

"_Hey missy, you want to hear a story?" asked the dark-skinned pirate with a long scar running down his cheek. Mel had wondered how a pirate ended up in Harburg but then again, it happened quite often really. People wandering to places where they have no business going._

_Mel had just earned fifty gold coins for a job and was treating herself to a drink in the bar. As she sat herself on a stool, the person on her right accosted her. She could see that he was slightly drunk, not totally wasted—yet. The bar was half-filled, since it was a weekday and people didn't have money to bust on drinks until payday. But it was still noisy enough to make one feel that he can spill the secrets of his soul or of his family to anyone who happened to be beside him._

_Mel was in a good mood. It was rare that she'd have fifty gold coins to spend. So after she demanded a shot of tequila from the bartender, she turned to the scarred man (whom she had immediately recognized as a pirate, what with his weather-beaten face) and said, "Go right ahead."_

"_You've heard of Thais, haven't you? That rich kingdom which was laid to waste hundreds of years ago during the time of the Demon Lord, and then rebuilt to a greater splendor once the Great Queen Rhen Pendragon returned to her rightful place. Well, let me tell you that heirs or heiresses lost were actually quite common in Thais._

"_Like King Uthar Pendragon." Here the stranger took a swig from a bottle of rum. "See, when this Uthar was a young man, way before he married that pretty princess Ella of Candar, he was wild and adventurous. He once stowed away in a pirate ship and stayed there for a year. Mind you, he was a rotten prince before the captain of the ship set him right. He would whine and complain about the chores that he had to do onboard the ship._

"'_I'm the Crown Prince of Thais, you scoundrels!' he would shout. 'You have no right to treat me this way!'_

"_And then the captain would fix her eye on him and say, 'Your title means nothing here, oh mighty prince. Here you are nothing but a useless lout. Don't you even dare insist your high-and-mighty ass on us or you'll be walking on the plank.'_

"_It took a while but they broke him and surprisingly, he became a rather good pirate. He was smart, brave and strong. He became the pride of the crew. And then one day, as they had been engaged in a combat, something went wrong with one of their cannons and it exploded, sending shrapnel and pieces of timber all over the place. One of these shot towards Uthar's direction and would have made a hole in his head had it not for the captain who pushed him out of the way and lost her eye instead._

"_Yes, this captain was Ava One-Eye, more popularly known as Rip. She lost her eye trying to save the prince. Of course, after everything that has happened, Uthar felt guilty and said he would stay by her side. But then she sent him away, saying that his kingdom needed him more. So he returned to the Kingdom of Thais and ruled that place, never mentioning his adventures with the pirates or that of his relationship with Ava One-Eye, except perhaps for that incident with the travelers out to stop the Snow Queen, where he saw Ava once again and I guess for the last time." The man stopped. He took another swig from the bottle and sighed._

_Mel was actually befuddled. True, the story was uncommon but nothing really striking. What would it matter if a King of Thais went out for some adventuring?_

"_But you know what, missy?" the man broke into her thoughts. "He loved her."_

"_What?"_

"_He loved her. Uthar loved her. Even before the eye incident. And she loved him too. But duty, goddamn duty got in the way. They were two dutiful people. He was needed in Thais; he had to go back."_

"_Why didn't she go with him?" Mel asked._

"_Their lives were too different. She was a pirate, remember? She was wanted all over the world. The people of Thais, those stuck-up snobs, would never consent to a Pirate Queen. Besides, imagine this, all your life you've been a pirate and then giving it up, giving your men up, to be a queen?"_

_Mel found herself nodding in agreement. Yes, it would have been very selfish of the captain to leave her crew to become queen. Ah, duty. How did a traveler once put it? Dharma. Yes, that was it, dharma. The path that has been foreordained for you._

"_And you know what makes this story even sadder? Nobody knew. Not a person in Thais realized how much their King gave up for them. He gave up freedom, he gave up love and they didn't know. He had accepted his position, regardless of what he really felt."_

_Mel downed her shot of tequila. Even with her unscrupulous ways, she understood duty and for that, despite her hatred for nobles and their hypocrisy, she respected the King of Thais, Uthar Pendragon, just a little._

"_Wait a minute, if no one knew of this story, why do you know it?"_

_The man smiled a little. "Because they were my great-great-great-grandparents. Uthar didn't know he had left a child with Ava and in the space of time before she met her eventual husband, the warlock Gavin, she gave birth to a son. Gavin didn't know that Ava's protégé was her son with Uthar. Family secrets passed on, dirty secrets. But then again, it's better this way, to know whom you descended from."_

‡

Comparing that sense of duty which made a King turn back from those which he had really loved and the lack of that sense of duty which made a Prince want to turn back from the people who needed him, it just made Mel think of Edward less.

Both wanted the same thing, Uthar and Edward. They both wanted freedom. But Uthar recognized his duty and uncomplainingly went back to it, while Edward refused to recognize his duty and complained about going back to it.

_But,_ Mel reasoned to herself, _Edward is still young. This is just a phase._ But despite knowing that, Mel couldn't help but liking Edward a little less than before.

And this triggered, in part, Mel's wandering attention. Being less engrossed with Edward (and the petty jealousies she felt when he was with Stella or Lydia), Mel began to be more observant with the rest of the people in their party.

She didn't think much of Lydia; she was practically the incarnate of all the things that Mel hated—a snobbish, self-righteous, stuck-up noble. Nor did Mel think of Stella, pure and frail, always needing a man like Edward by her side. She tried thinking of Galahad but found his black-and-white thinking repulsive. Which led her to Te'ijal.

As with any growing attraction, Mel decided to go back to where it all started. It started on the same night that she had played the fool for the evil vampire mage, the night when she stole the Orb of Darkness.

‡


	3. Chapitre 3 A Night Like Any Other Night

**Chapitre 3:** _A Night Like Any Other Night_

She had been sitting on a barrel outside Boden's office, waiting for her him to call her in. Apparently there was a job assignment for her but he was still talking to somebody inside so she decided to wait outside.

The moon was playing hide-and-seek in the sky. Once in a while, it would peek out from behind the clouds and Mel even fancied that it smiled at her. The thought made her smile in turn. Her life was an endless routine of starve-steal-eat and if it weren't for times like this when she could just peacefully admire the moon, she would have become embittered. Yes, it was because of this simple pleasure that she could still consider life worth living. This ordinary night. A night like any other night.

But the events that followed contradicted her thoughts. After being told of the job assignment, Mel immediately went to work. She went to the Clockwork Mansion, walked through the front door easily (goddess only knows why these people didn't lock their doors at night) and tiptoeing past the sleeping occupants, she went to the veranda and saw three hooded figures. The man in the middle, the one in a blood-red cloak approached her and told her to steal the Orb of Darkness from the Darkthrop Tower. At first she resisted but his offer was just too hard to resist. 200 gold coins! It was a fortune.

So she foolishly went and got the Orb for him only to be betrayed. The two hooded hooligans grabbed her by her arms as the leader in red opened a portal to goddess-knows-where. And she had thought it was the end of her until _she_ came.

Of course, Mel didn't notice that _she_ was beautiful at first. How could she when she was still panicking about what was happening around her?

The woman who had saved her was fighting the man in the red cloak while Mel looked on helplessly. From what she could gather from their heated conversation, both the man and woman knew each other well and that the woman's magic was stronger than the man's. Eventually he had to retreat but he had also taken with him the Orb of Darkness.

The woman introduced herself as Te'ijal, a vampress.

A… what?

To prove it, she fixed her glowing red eyes at Mel's and she bared her fangs. Mel almost ran away in fright but the vampress caught her by the neck and she had stayed to listen. Nothing about Te'ijal registered in Mel's mind except that she was strong, she protected her and she had a husband who kept on running away from her

Attraction? Practically non-existent.

When Mel met Te'ijal again, it was with joy and relief—joy at seeing her savior and relief because she could finally prove to Edward that vampires did exist. Mel was still infatuated with Edward and it lasted so long that really, it took her by surprise that one day she realized that she just didn't like him that much anymore.

And she was equally surprised to realize that she had been looking at somebody far too much.

‡

"Hey Mel?"

Mel looked up and saw Edward's green eyes looking back at her. She had been sitting by the camp fire, thinking about things she would not rather tell. As usual, Stella and Lydia were fast asleep just across her. Being the spoiled brat that she was, Lydia had demanded that she be given two woolen blankets because the cold would ruin her oh-so-precious skin. Thankfully, Te'ijal and Galahad didn't need blankets so they managed to spare some for the green-haired snob.

"Yes?" She didn't notice that while she was staring at the fire, Edward was staring at her from the corner of the cave. But she knew that his approaching her now was about her being absent-minded lately.

Edward sat himself beside her. "Can we talk?"

Mel pressed her lips together before answering. "Of course."

"What's wrong? And don't tell me that it's about saving the world or recovering fully Stella's memories because I can tell it's not those. What is it?"

Mel instinctively glanced towards the two vampires who were sitting near the cave. Galahad had his eyes closed, as if meditating, while Te'ijal fiddled her bow in a bored fashion. She glanced back at Edward and said, "It's nothing."

Edward creased his brows. "It's _not_ nothing, Mel! With your lack of concentration, some of us would get hurt. What if we were attacked and you were zoning out?"

"Well you're there, aren't you, the heroic prince?" Mel shot back irritably. "After all I'm just a petty girl with a knife." She expected a smart-ass retort from him but hearing nothing, she looked at him. He was looking at the fire, and she could see his hands were clenched.

"Good night, Mel." He stood up from beside her.

Mel could only look at him as he retreated to the shadows and laid himself down on the cold hard floor with his back towards her. She felt like she should apologize to him but decided against it.

_Goddess, what's wrong with me?_ Mel groaned inwardly. She buried her face in her knees.

‡

They started out early the next day since the blizzard had subsided. Te'ijal, being the more experienced in traveling, led the party while Galahad guarded the rear. Stella was sandwiched in the middle since she was the weakest. Lydia was also in the middle party although she was far from weak—it just made her feel like a princess being guarded on all sides. Mel walked behind Te'ijal since she had the stronger affinity with the Orb and was, technically, the leader of the party. Edward followed after Stella and Lydia.

Mel was still not feeling all that well. She didn't really like quarreling with Edward. Although she was no longer attracted to him, she still valued him as a friend. After all, they had been through a lot. Maybe she should really apologize.

"Heads up, rabbit."

Mel looked at Te'ijal still had her back turned towards her. Looking carefully through the gently falling snow, Mel could make out a pack of snow wolves running towards them. In a flash, everybody took out their weapons. Te'ijal, having a weapon for long-range, began shooting arrows. She managed to strike down half of the wolves but the other half were now approaching. Lydia used her fire magic to weaken those that remained but she couldn't get them all. Edward and Galahad slashed their way, staining the virgin white snow with blood.

Mel looked on beside Stella, unable to do anything with her knife which was too short to enable her to attack the wolves without getting scratched or bitten first.

"Just stay by my side, Stella."

"Yes, Mel!" Stella answered in a frightened whisper.

Even during this time, Mel could not help but admire Te'ijal's form as she straightened her back to string her bow. Even if she was covered in brown cloak, Mel could just imagine the vampress' smooth arm muscles rippling imperceptibly beneath her clear pale skin.

"Mel, watch out!" Stella shrieked.

As Mel snapped back to attention, she felt three sharp nails shredding the side of her right arm. With blood spurting from the gashes, Mel dropped to her knees but was unwilling to let the culprit go without dealing a blow. Pouring her anger, pain and confusion, she dug the knife straight between the wolf's eyes, piercing the thick skull. She brought the blade down, effectively slicing the wolf's head in two. As the wolf dropped down dead, Mel was sprayed with its blood. She remained standing although the pain in her arm really made her want to roll in the snow to ease the burning pain.

"Mel!" Stella cried out as she ran to her side. "Your arm!"

"Wow, thanks for noticing," said Mel through gritted teeth.

With the sight of three deep gashes on her friend's arm, Stella fainted.

"Oh, how _helpful_ of you," Mel couldn't help but mutter irritably.

By now, the pack of wolves had been completely eradicated. Galahad and Edward were now returning with their swords and armors stained red. When Galahad saw her, he ran to her side and exclaimed, "Goddess, you're injured!"

"I know that!" Mel snapped. The pain was getting intolerable. Why was it that they have to state the obvious every time?

Before she knew it, she was whisked off her feet and was carried in Galahad's arms. "This is precisely the reason why women should never fight. Fighting is men's business."

Mel felt like retorting but held her tongue. She felt she had no right to say anything since it was her fault why she was injured right now. Edward was right; her inattention would someday cost somebody's life.

Lydia, who had also come back, took one look at Mel's wounded arm then turned away in disgust. "Careless, unskilled rat-face," she muttered in a low voice. She scanned the area for Edward and when she saw him, she immediately went to his side and asked if he was injured anywhere.

Mel looked at Edward and saw, much to her surprise, that he was looking at her coldly.

"Wait, husband."

Galahad turned around fiercely. "Has the bloodlust gotten to you again, creature of evil? You are not going to have her blood as long as I am here! In my honor, I will defend this maiden's life with—"

Te'ijal chuckled. "Much as I'd want to, I do not drink blood mixed with a wolf's."

Galahad glared at her skeptically. "You lie, you have no power of healing!"

"She has," Mel said feebly. "She healed me once when I was going to Thial Mountain Pass."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Galahad allowed Te'ijal to come near them and pass her hand over the open wounds. Mel looked on in silence as an unearthly blue emanated from the vampress' hand and covered her wounds. The gashes slowly faded until nothing was left.

Mel looked away lest she began staring again. As she raised her head to talk to Galahad, she saw that his face bore a strange expression—something like awe and respect and something else. But it lasted only a second; it was gone again in no time.

With her arm now all right, Galahad let Mel down. They then proceeded to find a cave where they can stay until Stella, who was being carried by Edward in the same way that he had carried her when he and Mel first found her in the ruins, revived. Lydia was scowling and kept muttering, "Sly and useless girl abusing my dear Edward's kindness."

They found one in a heavily wooded area of evergreens. After making sure that there were no animals taking refuge within, they settled down. When Stella finally came around, a blizzard had began blowing, ending the progress of their journey for that day. This brought on a darkening of everybody's mood.

‡

It still bothered Mel that Edward was still not speaking to her. She never thought that he could be that sensitive. This thought was actually very effective in clearing her mind of other worries. Mel wondered how long Edward was going to sulk. She kind of missed his puppy-like concern over her well-being. Now he was just sitting by the cave entrance, looking at the snow whirling in a frenzied un-syncopated dance.

Lydia had already turned in for the day. Actually it amazed Mel that the snobbish girl could sleep through any kind of weather. So much the better, anyway. At least the endless litany about 'her poor Edward being preyed upon by savage girls' stopped.

Stella, well, she had also gone to bed although Mel was pretty sure that the frail girl was only pretending since she could not bear the heavy atmosphere in the cave.

Like Edward, Galahad also sat by the cave entrance but his eyes were closed, as if meditating. Mel wondered if he was meditating over his black-and-white morality.

Te'ijal, much to Mel's surprise, had taken upon herself to stay further inside the cave, where the shadows wrapped their giant fingers around her body, leaving only her blazing red eyes to indicate that she was still there. It was rare that Te'ijal would be reclusive; most of the time, she would be teasing her stubborn husband.

For the first time in almost a year, Mel felt alone. It was like she was back in Harburg all over again, in Harburg where there was nobody she could call her friend, not even Boden. This made her reflect on her actions. What was it that drove people away from her? Was it because of her peasant origins? Or the fact that she was once in the wrong side of the law? Or maybe it was her vulnerability to her emotions? Mel shook her head. Mulling over it in a cold, dark cave would bring her no good. So she laid herself down by the camp fire and fell asleep.

‡

Mel woke up with a start. She looked around her and saw that night had fallen. The blizzard had exhausted itself and everything was eerily peaceful. Surprisingly, Edward had gone to bed. He made his place near the entrance of the cave. Galahad was still sitting guard, with his eyes closed. And Te'ijal was leaning against the side of the cave, still covered in shadows. She had her face turned towards the innermost sanctum of the cave. Mel found it very strange. For the length of their journey, the vampress had never purposely distanced herself from them—particularly from Galahad, whom she loved to tease. Thinking of which, Mel turned back to Galahad who was still sitting by the entrance of the cave. She decided to approach him.

Mel stopped in front of the paladin. "Hey."

"What is it, young woman?" Galahad replied, without opening his eyes.

"Your wife—is she okay? She's not… herself."

Mel saw him press his lips together, as if hesitating how to respond to her question. "That woman is fine. Just leave her be; it's one of her bloody mood swings."

"Te'ijal has _mood swings?"_ Mel repeated incredulously. Somehow the thought of Te'ijal getting moody at times was unbecoming. Mel had always imagined the vampress to be fun-loving, sarcastic and entertaining—so mood swings were definitely out of character.

"Yes she has," Galahad replied simply.

Suspicions began growing inside Mel's thoughts. Something was definitely wrong. Galahad was not his usual damn-all-spawns-of-the-devil-especially-vampresses-who-steal-the-souls-of-paladins. It seemed like he was rather _worried_ (if that was possible) for Te'ijal.

"You've seen her moody before?" Mel asked again.

"Yes."

"Does she bite when she's moody?"

"Yes, she does so you better keep your distance."

Galahad was always warning the whole party from getting close to Te'ijal, but usually he was energetic and shouting when he was doing so. The strangely calm and silent way he said those words now made Mel a bit anxious.

And whenever Mel was anxious, she had the horrible tendency to do stupid things—like approaching Te'ijal and asking her what the hell was wrong. But Galahad's steel gaze kept her from doing so. Even so, Mel knew that if she stayed a bit longer, she would really walk towards Te'ijal and ask her.

"I'm going to stroll around a bit," Mel said.

Galahad narrowed his eyes. "After you got mauled earlier? No you are not going out. At least not alone."

At that moment, Mel thought that Edward and Galahad had so much in common. Maybe in a few years' time Edward would be Galahad's carbon copy, perhaps a little less incredulous on stuffs like magic (although Edward had already shown his tendency to not believe some things—like Orbs of Magic and vampires). Somehow that thought didn't make her exactly happy.

"Then accompany me then," Mel answered peevishly.

To her surprise, Galahad got up and said, "I will."


	4. Chapitre 4 Husband and Wife

**Chapitre 4:** Winding Back the Time—Husband and Wife

Mel tried to clear her head of many things—Edward's obvious sulking, the impeded progress of their journey, and the mood swings of a vampress. She was worrying too much and that was a sure sign that things would go downhill. Which was why Mel loved to depend on her gut feeling. Thinking just complicated things, not to mention it wasted a lot of time and energy.

Like now.

Mel was thinking about how thinking was a waste of time and now she realized that by doing so, she was wasting her time. And thinking about how she was wasting her time by thinking just wasted even more of her time. Ugh.

Her head was spinning.

_Need. To. Clear. My. Head._

"Hey, say something," said Mel, abruptly breaking the cold silence in the Istir forest. Galahad was evidently surprised at her request. He seemed preoccupied about something and Mel surmised it was about his wife. There were a lot of things that Mel wanted to ask Galahad about—mostly about Te'ijal to be sure.

"What do you want me to say?" Galahad asked quietly.

_Okay, something's definitely wrong. Why isn't he his usual obnoxious self?_

As the virgin snow muffled their footfalls, Mel realized that they had gone quite a long way. This must be a very bothered Galahad to have not checked their wandering. But then again, Mel was thankful for that. Distance is very healing at times.

"I don't know. Isn't there something you'd want to share? A moment of glory perhaps?"

Galahad lost his usual frown as he fell back to reminiscing. "I was under the King's service before. I was the Captain of the Guards and I had everybody's admiration. I even saved the King's life once, when an assassin tried to take his life. But… it was too long ago," he murmured.

Mel had stopped walking and was instead looking at Galahad's face. When he was not scowling or bathing in his pompous self-righteousness, he was rather handsome. True, frowning and scowling had marred his face with lines but Mel could still see that once, he must have been very handsome. She felt a little sorry for him.

"When did you meet Te'ijal?" she asked cautiously.

Galahad let out a sigh, creating a mist with his breath. "At that time too, after I had saved the King's life. She was with a party of travelers out to save the world."

_Wow, he's not spitting and shouting when talking about her._ Mel made a mental note to store this memory in her mind for years to come.

"Let's sit down." Mel looked around and found a nice spot under a tree where a rock with smoothened surface jutted out. She sat herself and watched as Galahad followed her, his cape flowing behind him. He contented himself by leaning against the tree under which Mel was sitting.

After a moment's hesitation, Mel asked, "Tell me, what do you really think of Te'ijal?"

Mel heard him sigh again. "She has turned me into something I had loathed. She had tricked me into marrying her. She had made me experience living that dreary monotonous existence, forever plagued with the insatiable hunger for blood. She has made me a mockery of my ideals." Then he chuckled. "But I don't know. She has become a habit to me. Living with her. Arguing with her. Running away from her yet fully aware that she would be able to find me in a few days' time. It is funny really. Perhaps I am always half-hoping she would find me when I do those kinds of things. It gives me a vague reassurance that maybe, maybe I am more than just a plaything to her."

Mel's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you love her?"

"I wonder." Galahad lifted his face towards the clear Northern night sky. "I wonder if I could love her. After all, she is the only one I can love because she is immortal. She will not fade away with the passage of time. But continually being treated like a plaything is not something that can earn one's love."

"You rescued her," Mel pointed out, remembering that incident in Darkthrop Keep when Te'ijal nearly 'died.' Mel could still see in her mind's eye Galahad's face then, anxious and worried. Mel had wondered then if he loved the vampress.

"I did because, as I've mentioned earlier, she has become like a habit to me. Her existence is nothing but a habit to me," said Galahad with a little more vehemence than usual. "It's nothing but a habit."

"Okaaaay." Mel narrowed her eyes. "What the hell is wrong? Is Te'ijal dying or what?"

"What makes you say that?" Galahad asked sharply.

"Well the way you're talking, all reminisce-y and sad, makes me think that she's about to die or something." Mel stopped. _Goddess, I'm such an idiot. _"Wait, I'm sorry."

Galahad kept his eyes on her, a frown forming in his brows. An awkward silence settled between them, like an oppressive fog. He closed his eyes again and shook his head. "She's hurt."

"What?"

"That woman cannot really heal people."

"What are you saying? She healed me before when—"

"She's not capable of that," Galahad repeated. "She can only transfer the wounds and injuries of others to herself."

"You mean my wound earlier…"

"Yes, that is why she's suffering for it now. She has to drink somebody's blood for her to heal. Or she can wait for days until her self-regeneration can do that for her. And that is the reason why you and the rest of your friends should stay away from her for a while."

"But why? Why would she do that?" Mel sputtered in disbelief. "Why did you let her?"

Galahad opened his eyes and glared at her fiercely. "Because that cursed creature has a heart! She does care!" He covered his face with his hands. "About you and your friends."

"Galahad?" Mel stood up and approached him cautiously. When she was near enough, she touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey…"

"She did that for me a couple of times, when I was stupid enough to run away from her and face enemies I could not defeat." He looked at the young woman beside him with a pained expression. "Why did you have to do this to me?"

Mel felt herself coloring in confusion. "W-What?"

"Reminding me that she is not wholly a creature of evil." Galahad gritted his teeth and turned away. After a few moments, he seemed to have regained his composure. "Come, we have wandered far enough. Let us go back."

Still baffled, Mel let him take her back to the cave. When they arrived, the rest of the party, with the exception of Te'ijal, was still comfortably asleep.

Galahad took up his position by the entrance of the cave. Mel deemed it best that she return to sleep. As she laid herself down by the fire, she closed her eyes and thought about the paladin's words earlier. One thing struck her. _He loves her but he won't admit it._

She had been lying down for about an hour but sleep wouldn't come back to her. She opened her eyes slightly to see if anybody else was up. When she glanced at the entrance, she saw that Galahad was no longer there. Alarmed, she got up and went to the mouth of the cave. Snow had begun to fall softly. She noticed big heavy footsteps outside, leading to the forest. Galahad's.

"What is it, crumpet?"

Mel whirled around. "Te'ijal!"

The vampress, who was paler than usual, stood beside her. Her face was a little drawn as if tired.

Mel could feel the blood rushing to her face as she tried to find the words to say. "I-I…"

"Looking for my husband?"

"Y-Yes!" Mel mentally kicked herself for her superb conversation skills.

"He is in one of his thinking moods," Te'ijal answered quietly.

Mel couldn't help but take note of the fact that it was almost the same answer Galahad gave earlier when she asked about Te'ijal. Husband and wife indeed. Somehow, it made her feel a little bit annoyed. Just a little bit.

The pause must have been longer than it should have since Te'ijal was looking at her closely.

"W-What?" Mel snapped, self-consciously.

"You've been looking at me a lot these past few days," the vampress chuckled.

Mel's face reddened even more. _Damn it! Why won't she stop that? _"I-I was just making sure you weren't going to have any o-one of us for dinner!"

Te'ijal chuckled again. Despite her flustered state, Mel couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation down her spine at the sound of the vampress' chuckle.

"You've gotten pretty bad at lying, rabbit."

"A-Anyway!" Mel sputtered, desperate for a change in conversation. "Galahad told me that you've… taken my wounds."

"That man talks too much," Te'ijal muttered quietly.

Mel looked at her earnestly. She could see the vampress was still in pain. "Te'ijal."

"You need not worry. I will recover from these, much sooner than you would have, to be sure."

"He… Galahad also told me that you'd heal faster if you drink blood." Mel's heart started hammering like crazy within her chest. "Since it is my fault, it's okay for me if… you drink my blood."

Te'ijal raised her eyebrows. Then she smiled. "Very bold of you, little rabbit."

"Well?" Mel snapped again in nervousness. Her palms were getting sweaty even though it was so cold.

And before Mel realized what was happening, the vampress' lips met hers, cool and soft. Mel pulled away in surprise. "What are you—?"

"That is very sweet of you, to offer your blood. But I am afraid that if I did that, I would have turned you to a vampire," Te'ijal chuckled again.

"T-That's not it!" Mel paused, confused with what just happened. Maybe she was hallucinating. But the sensation on her lips seemed real. Too real. "You… you kissed me?" she asked uncertainly.

"You're doubting it?" Te'ijal's hand slipped to the back of Mel's neck, pulling the girl closer to her until their lips met. This time, Te'ijal opened her mouth and let her tongue made its way into Mel's.

Dazed with what's happening, Mel could only let Te'ijal do as she wished. Her senses were getting blurry and she wasn't even sure if what was happening was real or another of her hallucinations. But it felt so good. Before she knew what she was doing, Mel let her hands explore the vampress' back, feeling the contour of her body.

A slight groan made Mel jump away. She looked around and saw Edward shifting his sleeping position. Still confused, Mel looked at Te'ijal, who looked back at her with a smile on her face.

"It's real, rabbit."

Mel didn't know what happened next and all she could remember was that she had let herself be led by the vampress to the innermost sanctum of the cave.


End file.
